Healthy Summer Recipes

Super excited! Having a fabulous time in Mumbai with the sea waves crashing outside my window, a book in one hand and delicious prawns in another!

But coming back to the point of this post, the monsoon may be knocking here but Delhi is still hot as ever! And what better way to beat the heat than with some yummy healthy summer recipes.

Read the article by clicking here

These are specially created to suit the calorie conscious as well as my near and dear ones who need to watch their sugar intake.

Oh-so-fresh Watermelon and Feta salad!!

posted from Bloggeroid

Tum bin

Na janey kyon aaj bhi yeh ehsaas hota hai,
Tu saath nahin, phir bhi paas hota hai.

Jo dil-e-sheher aik baar barbaad ho jaye,
Mudatton baad woh abaad hone ki aas rakhta hai.

Tu chala jata hai jab bhi chorr kar mujhe,
Dil ke koney mein, Tu kahin paas hota hai.

Pagal ko samajhne ke liye zarourat nahin hain hawalon ki,
Bass ek lafz “Mohabbat” hi kaafi hota hai.

Aankhon se behte huye samandar ko paani na samaj,
Yaad karte huye tujhe, Meri ankhon mein lahuu hota hai.

Lot’te nahin hain dobara jo ek baar chale jate hain,
Magar phir bhi duayon ki umeed mein tu hi aas hota hai.

Tere siwaa mere kaano ko koi sadaa pasand nahin ati,
Bas ek tu hi meri dharkan ki awaz hota hai.

Bhattak jata hoon mein jab bhi ghamon ke saye mein,
Dilaasey ke liye mere pass teri yaad ka sahaara hota hai.

Hamare naseeb mein kahan hai tujse milna,
Hamare liye to khawb ka jahan hi haqeeqat hota hai.

Raat kitni hi taweeel kyon na ho jaye zalim,
Aik na aik din zaroor sawera hota hai…

posted from Bloggeroid

Looking for tranquility? Look no further!

In my ongoing quest for peace of mind, I have travelled far and wide. There are so many parts of my beautiful country that I still have not explored. But living in Delhi has given me the opportunity to find hidden gems in the Himalayas away from the commercialisation of the Shimlas and Nainitals of the world.

My latest article on Rediff talks about 3 places where time truly stands still. At par with the sound of the ocean, the tranquility in mountains is hard to find elsewhere. Thus, my 3 secret destinations happen to be hidden in the crevices of the Himalayas.

You can read the article by clicking here.

Tea on the verandah of a cottage on Writer's Hill

The delightful toy train that takes you up to Shimla enroute to Potter's Hill

Tzinga aaaah

When I was approached by Ankit Negi, an intern at Hector Beverages to do a review of their new product - Tzinga, I was in double minds. The marketeer in me appreciated this innovative style of promotion, get the bloggers to try the product and blog about it. Very low cost but effective means of buzz marketing. But it is also a big gamble. Bloggers by definition are opinionated. If they do not like your product, they will say so without mincing words.

 

So, I tried the samples he sent across. Launched just last month by a start up funded by venture capitalists, Tzinga is an energy drink taking on the biggie called Red Bull. Which is probably where it falters. The product comes in 3 flavours - Lemon Mint (a refreshing zingy drink perfect for summer afternoons shopping), Tropical Trip (an interesting combination of flavours, unfortunately none of them stand out) & Mango Strawberry (too sweet for my palette but again a great refresher). 

So lets do this the old fashioned marketing way - The 5 Ps.


The product is spot on. The drinks taste good. The flavours are innovative and yet not weird. Though, I did not feel particularly energized and I did miss the lack of fizz in the drink.


The price point of Rs.20 also works. It positions itself slightly above the Slice and cold drinks of the world and much much below Red Bull. 


Packaging is where the product needs to make a choice. The current pouch packaging may be eco friendly and great for carrying in your handbag, but its just not cool. Red Bull drinkers like the whole jazz of opening that slim can with a pop and taking a swig. The pouch on the other hand can be perceived as sissy to be seen sipping from and I can't imagine many men in their target group (18-25) wanting to be seen publicly sipping this. 


Promotion - Though they are employing interesting techniques like blogging for promotion, the positioning needs a serious look-at. The product shouldn't be pitted against Red Bull. The 'hipness' factor is missing. It should be positioned at ages 14-21 for high school and college students.


The distribution of the product perhaps can't compete with the gigantic tentacles of Coke and Pepsi but they have made an effort to get good shelf space in retail outlets like Big Bazaar. The visibility of the product is quite high here.If the positioning is changed to the above target group, visibility in school and college canteens and 'addas' is the best place to be seen at.

Move over Gen Gap, here comes the Tech Gap!

I remember the days not so long ago when anything that parents didn't understand was attributed to the Generation Gap. Unfortunately, before I could experience the same for myself, the concept became redundant and I am now forced to acknowledge what can only be called the Technological Gap.

Let me disclaim at the onset that I have always considered myself tech savvy. I was making spreadsheets when I was 6 years old and have seen times change from Lotus to MS office and from PC-XTs to laptops and tablets. But my lil Sonu reminds me that she's made of different stuff than I was.

At 1 year of age, she knows the difference between the Samsung Galaxy and the iPhone, has a strong preference for one of them (its against my principles to say which one) and even knows how to unlock my phone. The downside is that she now assumes that any gadget worth its salt must be touch screen and wonders why the TV doesn't change channels when she swipes the screen. She has already rejected the PSP for the same reason and now only listens to fairy tales on the iphone or plays apps on a tab.

I know I'm still one up on her but the day is not far when she will be teaching me tricks and shortcuts on our gadgets. That day I hope I have the humility to smile and accept defeat. But till then, let me enjoy being the secret keeper of the knowledge of all things cool.

How times change.

posted from Bloggeroid

Book review- The immortals of Meluha

The success of Mythology depends on belief rather than facts and logic. Whether Hanumanji actually built the Ram Setu or not is really quite irrelevant. The fact that a billion people like to believe so is really what makes it important.

One of the most intriguing gods in Hindu mythology is Lord Shiva. Even to my illiterate mind, Shiva stands for raw energy, for passion and for strength. It is difficult to do justice to such a phenomenon in a few hundred pages. But that's exactly what Amish does in the Immortals of Meluha. Justice to the character. He takes Lord Shiva and makes him into a plausible character- one with feelings and faults, with a personality and a mind that constantly reasons with logic. The hero of the book is not the plot but the characterization that the author has achieved. Whenever I hear of Sati henceforth, I will imagine her to be this righteous, beautiful woman who is as comfortable accepting laws that banish her as she is dueling with those who question her honour.

The plot of the book follows Shiva as he searches for his destiny and tries to do what seems to be right. He is curious, honourable and respectful. At the same time, his colorful persona makes him mischievous, adding flavour to the book.

The author has used many techniques of writing to make the book interesting and has succeeded in doing so. The construction of sentences is captivating, the language simple yet not condescendingly so and scenario setting done with such aplomb that one can almost visualize Kashmir from the eyes of a tribal immigrant. Though the story is set in 1900BC, it appeals to the modern mind because history has been cleverly interwoven with logic, science and myth. It is difficult to know where facts end and fiction begins, the mark of a great writer. Amish has found what it takes to make a bestseller- intriguing characterization, simple plot that takes the reader with it and an open ending that makes sure that the reader buys the next book. I already did.

I increasingly find myself reading books only from the Indian Authors section on my online library. Not because of some misplaced patriotism but because writers of this new era are coming up with such fantastic books that I find myself wanting more.

Get the Immortals of Meluha. You won't be able to put it down!

posted from Bloggeroid

Dark

The smile
you
knew has
faded away

It's dark
it's dark in
me

The spark
that once
could light a
day

Slowly
has ceased
to be

My mind
is blank
My heart
is still

A joke
is
sanity

My thoughts
are now
my only
friend

In dark
they let
me be.

posted from Bloggeroid